"It's theater, really. We have a lot of toys with sensors, but it is the way they're programmed that makes the difference." Richard Maddocks, Sr. Principal Designer, Robotics at Hasbro, referring to Squawkers McCaw.
1. Keep it crisp. A crisp interface is one that has a tangible, kinesthetic feel of responsivity. There is no lag between the mand (request) to the CPU for something. A wish really is a command with a good interface. Narration and animation can sometimes make an interface less crisp. Have you ever experienced a non-crisp elevator button? Nothing can be more maddening.
2. Words don't work. Children, especially preschoolers, don't respond well to verbal instructions, much less written text. If you are presenting a structured activity, present a brief, one sentence launching statement such as "click on a puppy..." and then stop. Make the interface wait, quietly, for the child to make the next move.
3. Leverage the power of sound. As Living Books designer Mark Schlichting says "sound can make poor graphics look good, but not the other way around." Create clear clicks, to ticks, when the cursor is moving over an icon, so it is clear that the computer hears you.
4. Make it personal. Hide a child's name in the graphics, such as what was done in the "I Spy" series. Let children choose small design elements, such as the color of a race car, or the dress on an avatar. These small things go a long way.
5. Make it alive. Children respond to living elements in a software interface. They love eyes that follow the cursor, and cats that run while an activity loads.
6. Make it reversible. Children love to explore. But this urge to explore is diminished if they feel like they can't get back to where they were. You can enhance feelings of control by providing one click access to the main menu, main map, or main navigation screen.
7. Offer some digital playdoh, especially at first. This also means, make sure a child succeeds in the first 10 seconds. You can't fail with a material like play doh. Likewise, you can build in playful elements of interactivity in a menu, by letting children make ripples in the background water -- a technique used in Software MacKiev's World book.
8. Offer some cookie crumbs. You can grey-out (but don't eliminate) items that currently in use. You can also grey out icons that represent the number of problems that remain, so a child can settle down and get to work. Tell them where they are in your digital journey in a way that a child can understand.
9. Create an interface you'd want to go out to dinner with. Some children's interfaces talk at you, not with you. Some try to entertain you with sugary narration and graphics that have little to do with the task at hand. Children don't come to an interactive media activity to be entertained. They want to do things. Don't introduce elements that get in the way of a child's interests; rather, give them icons that empower them, and amplify their decisions.
10. Don't mix up linear and non-linear media. They are two, completely different psychological contexts. If you use cut scenes, make it clear when you're entertaining, and then when you're handing the reins of control back to the child.
11. Use labels and print, but mix the words with understandable icons. Don't forget that the interface also needs to stand up to use by a busy parent or teacher.
12. Offer a clear target for the cursor. A great example is the Wii interface.
13. Keep in consistent. Don't rearrange the furniture on a child. Once they've learned something, don't make them unlearn it in order to get out of a page or activity.
Note that these are general principles. Software and children each are large variables in any design equation.
"It's theater, really. We have a lot of toys with sensors, but it is the way they're programmed that makes the difference." Richard Maddocks, Sr. Principal Designer, Robotics at Hasbro, referring to Squawkers McCaw.
1. Keep it crisp. A crisp interface is one that has a tangible, kinesthetic feel of responsivity. There is no lag between the mand (request) to the CPU for something. A wish really is a command with a good interface. Narration and animation can sometimes make an interface less crisp. Have you ever experienced a non-crisp elevator button? Nothing can be more maddening.
2. Words don't work. Children, especially preschoolers, don't respond well to verbal instructions, much less written text. If you are presenting a structured activity, present a brief, one sentence launching statement such as "click on a puppy..." and then stop. Make the interface wait, quietly, for the child to make the next move.
3. Leverage the power of sound. As Living Books designer Mark Schlichting says "sound can make poor graphics look good, but not the other way around." Create clear clicks, to ticks, when the cursor is moving over an icon, so it is clear that the computer hears you.
4. Make it personal. Hide a child's name in the graphics, such as what was done in the "I Spy" series. Let children choose small design elements, such as the color of a race car, or the dress on an avatar. These small things go a long way.
5. Make it alive. Children respond to living elements in a software interface. They love eyes that follow the cursor, and cats that run while an activity loads.
6. Make it reversible. Children love to explore. But this urge to explore is diminished if they feel like they can't get back to where they were. You can enhance feelings of control by providing one click access to the main menu, main map, or main navigation screen.
7. Offer some digital playdoh, especially at first. This also means, make sure a child succeeds in the first 10 seconds. You can't fail with a material like play doh. Likewise, you can build in playful elements of interactivity in a menu, by letting children make ripples in the background water -- a technique used in Software MacKiev's World book.
8. Offer some cookie crumbs. You can grey-out (but don't eliminate) items that currently in use. You can also grey out icons that represent the number of problems that remain, so a child can settle down and get to work. Tell them where they are in your digital journey in a way that a child can understand.
9. Create an interface you'd want to go out to dinner with. Some children's interfaces talk at you, not with you. Some try to entertain you with sugary narration and graphics that have little to do with the task at hand. Children don't come to an interactive media activity to be entertained. They want to do things. Don't introduce elements that get in the way of a child's interests; rather, give them icons that empower them, and amplify their decisions.
10. Don't mix up linear and non-linear media. They are two, completely different psychological contexts. If you use cut scenes, make it clear when you're entertaining, and then when you're handing the reins of control back to the child.
11. Use labels and print, but mix the words with understandable icons. Don't forget that the interface also needs to stand up to use by a busy parent or teacher.
12. Offer a clear target for the cursor. A great example is the Wii interface.
13. Keep in consistent. Don't rearrange the furniture on a child. Once they've learned something, don't make them unlearn it in order to get out of a page or activity.
Note that these are general principles. Software and children each are large variables in any design equation.